Bonds a fitting home run king

August 9, 2007
Sometimes we get lucky with our sports stars.
It was easy, for instance, to root for Hank Aaron. As he approached and then broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record in the early ’70s, Aaron went about his business with class, playing the game the way he always had, bashing the ball better than anyone else. Thirty-four years later, he remains a figure of tremendous respect, within and outside the baseball world.
With Barry Bonds, it’s a different story. Notoriously prickly with reporters and fans, Bonds was never given the benefit of the doubt, despite years of unparalleled accomplishments on the diamond. His drive toward the home run record, which he set Tuesday night with a blast to center field at his home ballpark in San Francisco, has been clouded by allegations of drug use. Despite his achievements, the public has been largely ambivalent toward his pursuit of glory.
And with good reason. Bonds is enjoying a late-career power surge utterly unprecedented in baseball history. Players peak in their mid- to late 20s and slow down as they pass their mid-30s — it has always been this way. Bonds, though, entered his greatest stretch of home run hitting just at the time he should have been tapering off.
Then there are the mountains of circumstantial evidence surrounding his peak production years, including jail time for his personal trainer on steroids-related charges, his connection to a Bay Area laboratory linked to the drugs, and Bonds’ physical transformation — from relative lightweight to a literal giant — visible to even casual fans.
His achievements, though, are transcendent. He was an all-time great player even before his power numbers jumped. He does everything well, including getting on base more often than anyone of his era. He is intentionally walked constantly; he often sees only a handful of pitches to hit each game. He is the best at what he does in at least 50 years.
And, of course, no matter how it’s counted, no matter what asterisk is ultimately placed next to it, 756 is an awfully big number. To have hit more home runs than anyone who ever played the game is a tremendous accomplishment, no matter the circumstances.
Still, is it too much to ask for our sports stars, who are supposed to provide escapism, to be free of moral ambiguities? Can’t we have a guy we can all look up to?
Apparently not. Instead, we have Barry Bonds, and all his contradictions. In this case, we get what we deserve.